An Old Friend
by Angie Chick
Summary: Piper used to live in Tulsa and hang out with the greasers, but she got tossed into an orphanage and wasn't seen by the boys for years. Guess what; she's back and ready to change their lives forever.


Disclaimer: I do not own "The Outsiders" or any of the characters except for the ones I make up (you can tell who they are if you've read the book). Anyone want to give me Soda for my birthday?

A/N: Okay, I've been a fan of the movie for a couple of years now, and I just recently read the book of it my mom got me for Christmas. I am an Oklahoman, but I don't live in a big town like Tulsa or OKC so I might be a little off on the lifestyle of people there. I'm not sure if I'll continue it because I just have an inkling of a plot in my head. Please let me know if you have any suggestions, and don't flame me if I do something you don't like or make characters OOC (which I'm sure I'll do with the plot I have planned). Oh, and sorry if I mention something that didn't happen or wasn't invented before 1966. I haven't been alive long enough to be able to get everything correct in that area. I'll probably end up tossing in a few terms we use now a days like "awesome" and "dude", but I'll try to throw in stuff like "peachy keen" and "swell". I'M KIDDING. I just can't let myself write that, and besides, I think those were just from like the 50's, and mostly on "Leave It To Beaver" or something. Whatever. Please forgive me if something looks weird in this story because this site automatically takes out certain symbols and stuff and screws up everything.

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Ponyboy woke up and groaned.

"Hey, get up, you lazy bum! You'll be late for school!" Darry called from the kitchen.

_That was weird. Did I dream all that in one night?_

He got out of bed, put his pants on, and went into the kitchen for some bacon and chocolate cake. He felt especially lousy that day. He'd had a strange nightmare, and it wasn't the one he usually had about his parents.

When he walked into the living room after he fixed his plate, he almost dropped the food in shock.

"Be careful, Pony. You're gonna get Darry's carpet all messy if you keep shakin' that plate like that."

It was Johnny. It wasn't as though Ponyboy had actually believed the dream, but seeing his best friend was startling, nonetheless.

He sat down on the floor next to his pal and began eating his breakfast, glancing away from the TV at Johnny often. He couldn't help it. The dream was so real to him. He wanted to hug his best friend, but greasers just didn't do that kind of thing around people (Steve, Two Bit, and Sodapop were watching TV with them).

When Ponyboy finished eating, he glanced at the clock and turned to Johnny, "I'm headin' for school. You gonna come today?"

"Yeah, I guess I could."

The two walked in silence most of the way, but when they reached the campus, Ponyboy said, "You know somethin' I always noticed 'bout you?"

A/N: Okay, I'm gonna sort of steal this part from S. E. Hinton, but I have to make up for some stuff since the whole book was a dream. I think I'll have to do this a lot. Sorry.

"What?"

"You're real insightful. I know they all say I'm supposed to be deep and all that crap, but you look at things different. I can take one thing and just see what's on the outside. You can take the same thing and see what's on the inside."

"Naw, you know I'm dumb."

"No, you just take a while to get things, but when you do, you rip them apart and examine them good. I think you're real smart, Johnnycake."

Though no one who didn't know Johnny would be able to tell, Ponyboy clearly saw a hint of a smile across his friend's face.

After school, Johnny and Ponyboy met up with Soda, Steve, Two Bit, and Dally to get a Coke. Just before they entered the convenience store, they stopped to stare at a redheaded woman leaning against the wall outside and smoking a cigarette. The boys hadn't seen her around before. New prey.

Dally eyed her as he moved in. She had wild red hair partly pulled back, mischievous bright green eyes, freckles covering her skin, and a long nose. She wore old blue jeans and a button-down plaid shirt five sizes too big.

Dallas leaned against the wall next to her, and tried to hover over her, but that was hard because she was at least six feet tall. He grinned slyly and said, "Hey, baby. Wanna go in that alley over there and-"

"Shut up, Dally," she said as she took one last drag from her cigarette.

She ignored his bewildered look and peered over his shoulder, "My, my, if it ain't ol' Dr. Pepper himself!"

She stuck her hands in her pockets and walked over to Sodapop, "How you been?"

"Who're you?" Soda asked, confused.

"Yeah, I reckon none of y'all recognize me. It has been a while. It's me, Piper. Piper McIntyre."

Everyone's face lit up except Ponyboy's (he was too young to really remember her well). Despite his greaser values, Sodapop picked her up around her waist and swung her in a circle.

"Golly, Pipe! How you been?'

"Ah, ah, ah. I asked you first," she said and smiled.

They all grinned back. With that smile, she was definitely the girl they remembered. Sodapop said, "Same ol', same ol'. You know how it goes. So, I heard you got tossed in a orphanage way down in Enid. You still livin' there, or did you run away?"

"I tried to, but they kept putting me back. They unofficially kicked me out when I was fourteen. Oh, and I just got me an apartment over near your house."

"Why'd they kick you out?"

She seemed a little uneasy, "They didn't like my type, I guess. I didn't belong."

They were walking down the street.

"Why'd you move back here?" asked Johnny quietly.

Piper lit a cigarette, "I just needed to get away from life there for a while. Besides, I got a job offer here. I sing at a little place on Pine Street. I play there at night and work for my GED in the day." (A/N: I'm not sure if they had the GED program back then, but let's just pretend they did.)

"You dropped out? Why? You're the smartest person I ever met!" Sodapop almost yelled.

"At the time, I just couldn't deal with school. Don't blow it all out of proportion."

Two-Bit piped up, "Hey, whatdya say we go down to the lot and lay around. Who knows? Maybe some kids made the mistake of being there when we show up, and we can give them a li'l trouble."

"Sounds great," Piper smiled, remembering her childhood there in Tulsa.

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I know it doesn't have much of a plot, and I'm not sure it ever really will, but maybe I can come up with something to give it some structure. Anyway, review please.


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